FM: Kazakhstan and Russia work in Baikonur in normal mode

Kazakhstan and Russia work in Baikonur cosmodrome in a normal mode, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov said at the press-conference following a meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Yerlan Idrisov.

"Discussing the number of launches is a normal working process. We go through this process every year," Sergei Lavrov said.

Earlier Kazakhstan allowed Russia to launch only 12 Proton-M carrier rockets from Baikonur in 2013 instead of the 17 requested launches. The Kazakh party explains the restriction by negative environmental impact of the launches.

Lavrov also said the official notes are a normal way of the conversation between two countries.

Earlier Russia sent two official notes concerning Baikonur to Kazakhstan.
"There no scandal, sensation or break in the relations between Kazakhstan and Russia," Yerlan Idrisov said.

According to Idrisov, the comments of some media on worsening the bilateral relations between two countries do not represent the fact.

"Kazakhstan and Russia go ahead together. It is mood of both high level officials and ordinary people of two countries," Kazakh FM said.

The Baikonur cosmodrome is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan. It is leased by the Kazakh government to Russia (currently until 2050) and is managed jointly by the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian Space Forces. Under the current Russian space program, Baikonur remains a busy space port, with numerous commercial, military and scientific missions being launched annually.